Young Players Catching My Eye


A Yankees/Angels game means star power: Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge in pinstripes; Shohei Ohtani in red and white -- along with Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, out with injuries. I also took the chance to capture images of young players on the rise. 

Rookie reliever Albert Abreu has rebounded nicely since being shelled by the Rays (surrendering six runs without recording an out) on July 29th. He pitched an effective inning and two-thirds Monday night, and then helped the Yanks out of a 5th inning jam in Tuesday's day game. While every appearance counts, if you total his other 15 games, his ERA is 1.85, with 25 strikeouts (alongside 11 walks) in 24 innings.

The emergence of Jared Walsh (below) convinced the Angels to part company with Albert Pujols. He's settled in nicely as L.A.'s regular first baseman -- and made the All Star team for the first time.

What a kick this homestand must be for Andrew Velazquez. Filling in nicely at shortstop for the injured Gleyber Torres, he's looked steady on defense, and delivered a key two-run single Tuesday afternoon. In his 10th professional season after being drafted out of Fordham Prep, Velazquez bounced from the Rays to the Indians, before playing 40 games for Orioles a year ago. This year, everything clicked; after impressing in spring training, he hit over .280 at Syracuse before getting the call to the majors.

 

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